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| England players celebrate ALex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal |
ENGLAND have been called many things over the years, though rarely has perfect been one of them.
Their pristine record suggests they are and yet, even after securing 10 wins out of 10 in qualifying for Euro 2016, it is open to debate whether that remains the best description of this campaign.
Uncomplicated, yes. Straightforward, definitely. Perfect? That would be stretching it.
In keeping with what has gone before, Roy Hodgson watched his players do what they had to in order to overcome limited opponents bereft of cutting edge.
Ross Barkley opened the scoring, an own-goal from Lithuania goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis denied Harry Kane from getting on the scoresheet, before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added a layer of sheen with England’s 31st goal in Group E.
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| Ross Barkley opened the scoring for England |
Yet when the final whistle went, it felt like a release from the drudgery of what, Switzerland apart, has been a tour of Europe’s low spots and the start of the countdown to a set of friendly fixtures when Hodgson will learn rather more about his players.
Who from this hotch-potch line-up will feature against the likes of Spain, France, Germany and Holland remains to be seen.
Barkley, Kane and Adam Lallana were arguably the pick of the bunch on a plastic pitch in the LFF Stadium, but it was not England’s fault few other conclusions could be reached.
There were brief skirmishes between rival supporters, punches were thrown as well as missiles. And a flag of St George was ripped down shortly before the teams emerged as the segregation inside this tiny stadium was exposed.
When the focus returned to events on the pitch, the eye was drawn to Hodgson bickering with the referee over having his view obscured by one of the TV cameras.
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| Riot police intervened ahead of kick off |
Rather than complaining, he should have initially been thanking the broadcasters until Barkley enlivened proceedings by conjuring the breakthrough from distance after 29 minutes.
Kane had mustered three early attempts from outside the area that demanded Lithuania goalkeeper Arlauskis made smart, if not spectacular, saves.
Yet there was little Arlauskis could do to deny Barkley his second international goal.
The Everton youngster took a pass from Kane and unleashed a shot which clipped the back of Tomas Mikuckis and went in off the post from 20 yards.
If there was an element of fortune, then Barkley’s positivity and willingness deserved to be rewarded.
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| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain dealt with the artificial pitch |
He continues to make the most of the opportunities he is being offered, though whether Hodgson will continue to keep the faith when England face A-list opposition next month is far from certain.
Hodgson’s plan is to return to the tried and trusted and Barkley is not yet in that category in the manager’s mind, which serves as a reflection on the coach not the player.
The goal sparked more disturbances behind Jack Butland, but the keeper kept his concentration to produce a full-length dive as he repelled a left-footed drive from Lukas Spalvis as Lithuania belatedly managed to make a nuisance of themselves.
England proved more ruthless.
Lallana hoodwinked Georgas Freidgeimas with a drag back and found Kane, whose rifled shot hit the post and rebounded over the line off Arlauskis.
It was credited as an own-goal to leave the striker, who along with Barkley and Lallana was the only other survivor from Friday’s initial line-up against Estonia, still officially searching for his first international goal as a starter.
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| Adam Lallana laid off for Harry Kane to shoot for the second |
Kane should have banished that blemish after the break. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s dash down the right resulted in a clever cut-back and the forward was denied, firstly, by Arlauskis and then by Freidgeimas.
From the resulting Lallana corner, Barkley’s downward header was kept out by the goalkeeper.
When Danny Ings replaced Kane just before the hour mark, he became the 33rd different player Hodgson has turned to during qualification.
Oxlade-Chamberlain then thrashed a finish into the roof of the net after Vytautas Andriuskevicius gifted the ball to Kyle Walker.
It was fitting that England’s genteel qualifying campaign should end on an artificial surface. The phoney war is over. Let the real games begin.
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| Barkley and Lallana embrace after the opening goal |
Lithuania (4-2-3-1): Arlauskis; Freidgeimas, Mikuckis, Klimavicius, Andriuskevicius (Vaitkunas 81); Panka, Zulpa, Novikovas, Slivka, Cernych; Spalvis (Matulevicius 85)
England (4-3-3): Butland; Walker, Jones, Jagielka, Gibbs; Lallana (Alli 65), Shelvey, Barkley (Townsend 73); Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kane (Ings 59), Vardy.
Booked: Shelvey, Vardy
Goal: Barkley (28), Arlauskis (34 own goal), Oxlade-Chamberlain (61)
Referee: Kenn Hansen (Denmark)
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